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The rains came crashing down on the kingdom last week, leaving a trail of destruction in the form of floods, collapsed roofs and cancelled events, writes Kristian Harrison.
After almost a week of consistent, torrential rain, the clean-up operation has begun as a fleet of more than 100 tankers has been dispatched by the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry to dredge the lakes that have appeared on many of Bahrain’s roads.
The ministry received more than 2,000 calls for assistance over the weekend alone, mostly due to cars being stranded in deep water and damaged property. One such villa was that of Tone-Lise Gjersoe, in Saar, who woke up on Friday morning to find a significant portion of her roof that overhangs the garden had crashed to the floor.
There was also a similar cave-in in the pump room. The Norwegian-born expat added: “I’ve lived in Bahrain for nearly 20 years and I think this is only the second time I remember it being this bad. Certainly, it’s the biggest downpour we’ve had in a decade.
“In a way, we’re lucky since the damage is outside and in a room we don’t use at this time of the year, but if the rain sustains itself for much longer, who knows what could happen to the rest of the house as these buildings weren’t designed with this much precipitation in mind.”
Motorists also decried the state of the kingdom’s streets and highways, many of which resembled rivers as the limited drainage system had little effect. One angry driver, Baenine Costanilla, said: “Even in previous years when the rain has been nowhere near as heavy as this, there have been puddles and miniature lakes everywhere. “It’s ridiculous that nothing has been done to prevent this.
“Inspiration should be taken from roads in Europe, with a camber running into a gutter with drains. Having all of our roads flat as a pancake with just sand on the border is a recipe for disaster. “I understand it’s a lot of work for seemingly minimal gain as it only rains for a couple of weeks a year, but in the long run it will be viable when they don’t have to spend so much on cleaning up, repairs and compensation.”
Another side effect is the plethora of potholes that have appeared on the roads since the deluge, with numerous busy avenues now posing a risk to the wheels of cars and bicycles that aren’t lucky enough to avoid them.
A raft of events due to take place on Friday also had to be postponed until this coming weekend, such as the 10th Annual Jawad Mini Marathon and the Rotary Club of Manama’s ‘Kick for a Cause’ football tournament at the Bahrain Rugby Football Club.
However, some managed to find levity amongst the dire weather. Numerous videos uploaded to social media, which racked up thousands of views and shares, showed locals riding the waves in kayaks, whilst one brave soul even rode his jet ski through Manama.
